Vintage Doll
Vintage Doll |
The
firm commenced in the early 1800s, again as a porcelain factory, and
they continued in business until almost the Second World War, and in
many ways they were similar to Kammer and Reinhardt.
Early
on in their business, they produced wooden dolls and slightly later,
papier-mache, china, bisque and celluloid.
Towards the end of the last
century, there seems to have been a great deal of interchanging with
other quality German firms as well as French
ones, as the quality of the latter was extremely high.
Their use of jointed kid bodies
was quite considerable as was the custom of making dolls with
moulded hair, and indeed, all bisque bodies
.
These were often small dolls
suitable for use as residents of doll's houses and were jointed so
that they could sit and be placed in different poses.
Their range of larger dolls was
considerable, one of which is a lovely girl doll with huge brown
eyes.
I was invited to give a display on
a fund raising day at a home for the elderly in Oxfordshire and
afterwards the Matron asked me if I would like her own doll which she
had in her room. She was quite insistent that we have her and 1, of
course, was delighted.
When I tried to contact her to say
her doll was in the museum she had retired and was not traceable.
I am sure she would be pleased to
know it is still giving pleasure.
Usually most of the dolls were
dressed, which was not always the case with other firms, and
although the outer garment was sometimes a shift, usually the
clothing was more attractive - especially as most of the dolls were
either females or babies. Somehow, as today, boy dolls were not so
popular.
To
own a Kestner doll today is the aim of most collectors of antique
dolls and as they brought out so many small dolls, it is possible for
most collectors to own one.
Frequently,
though not always, the letters J.D.K. And 'Made in Germany' are to be
found on the back of the head so that they are easily recognisable.
People often say to me, "If only they made dolls like that
today", and this was true about 20 years ago, but not now.
If
one wants an unusual quality doll they should go to a specialist shop
(like us, who do mail order on items), where people know the subject
well rather than gift shops, for whilst they do stock 'everyday'
dolls, they are not in a position to know all the sources and have
specialist knowledge but then, I suppose, this applies to everything
collectable today.
More
German Doll manufacturers
Two German firms named Heubach, do
sometimes cause confusion, especially among new Collectors.
Firstly there was Ernst Heubach of
Kopplesdorfer, whose daughter, in about the year 1915, married
Herman, the son of Armand Marseille, whose firm we featured in an
earlier issue.
The
two family businesses merged and became the Kopplesdorfer
Porzellan/fabrik firm.
They
made a variety of bisque dolls heads attached to either jointed or
bent limb bodies. We personally find the most frequently found today
is the bent limbed toddler which was made as late as the 1920s.
Personally
I am not quite so keen on these as 1 am of some of the earlier dolls
as often the bisque was of a less superior quality and the colouring
was rather 'ruddy', this does seem to be the case with later dolls of
other makes.
It
is however nice to have an example in every collection. Marks found
on these dolls' heads often includes the name 'Heubach', then a
number, and the words 'ThuringalP or 'Germany' and sometimes a
horseshoe design with a number underneath.
In actual fact there were other
firms making dolls with the name Heubach but the one frequently
causing confusion is the name of the Heubach Brothers (Gebruder) who
commenced their business in Thuringa in the first half of the 1800s
and continued until after the Second World War.
Their range was significant,
considerable and varied and included dolls with moulded hair, flock
hair, intaglio eyes, hair wigs and open mouths showing teeth.
The firm seems to have specialised
in character dolls which are especially attractive to today's
collectors.
The most commonly found marks are
either a sunburst or a square.
One of the heads in our
collection, for which we are hoping to find a body one day, has an
attractive face and a moulded Dutch style bonnet with a hole in
either side through which a ribbon can be inserted to tie under the
chin and a row of pink flowers painted around it.
These dolls are sought after by
collectors for their quality and variety of styles but for new
collectors it is really necessary to remember the markings of this
particular Heubach Company.
Schoenau and Hoffmeister Dolls
This
German Firm (mentioned in a previous issue), was also very well known
in the doll manufacturing world, although it appears to have been on
a smaller scale.
It
commenced as a joint enterprise at the turn of the last century and
continued until after World War II.
Prior
to their amalgamation they had made either complete dolls - some with
leather bodies - or heads, to supply to other German Doll makers.
Many
were of the pretty girl type although we have a baby doll with a
painted hair, opening and closing eyes and soft cloth body filled
with straw - there is no shape to the straw filled feet - although it
has attached composition hands.
One of this firms successes in the late 1920s was a Portrait Doll of our present Queen - Princess Elizabeth - what one would give to have one of those today!
The
markings on the Schoenau and Hoffmeister dolls are usually a five
pointed star with the letters S and H on either side and a P & B
in the centre.
There seem to have been dozens of
firms in Cermany during the latter part of the 19th Century and the
first part of the 20th Century, making a variety of dolls, any one of
which is to be treasured today.
Collectibles Coach
Collectibles Coach
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